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A comment on Developer account removed by Apple – $108,878 frozen. Parent comment

Re:Developer account removed by Apple – $108,878 frozen by elashri on Thursday November 23, 2023 @03:11PM (#38396982)
> The Saudi Arabian app to track what your wife is doing is still on the appstore, no need for a thirdparty store.

While I usually don't like the saudi system but this app in particular is about making it easy to manage official government paperwork online [1]. This applies for all residents (citizens or not) and people really like it. So it is not an app to track females movements. While you can disagree or agree on the male approval requirements for a female to travel (I disagree) but it is not like it tracks movements using GPS or any invasive data. It just make it easier to manage the permits and all other interactions with the government without having to drive long distances and wait in lines.

Well as a complete outsider in another country who probably never went to Saudi Arabia like yourself, I would be more careful.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absher_(application)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Developer account removed by Apple – $108,878 frozen by realusername on Thursday November 23, 2023 @03:16PM (#38397044)
The app is doing both purpose since they follow their local laws, you can also read the wikipedia entry on the impact on women.

I'm open to some kind of argument like "apple has no choice in such dictatorship" but this argument is contradictory with the argument that its protecting from nation states.

And since we mentioned Saudi arabia, we can also mention China where icloud is dodgy, it's not a unique case. I'm sure they are others I don't know about.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Developer account removed by Apple – $108,878 frozen by elashri on Thursday November 23, 2023 @03:40PM (#38397273)
Well, I was just responding to your particular claim that this app is tracking "what your wife is doing". But unless the wife is exclusively moving by airplanes (so that the app will notify male guardian she entered airport) that's is not tracking what wife is doing. It doesn't give information about activities or locations like saying many other apps.

This is one service among all other government interactions services that the app provide. If the app is not here. Women still need to get male guardian approval because this is local law. You can disagree on that matter (I am not defending or debating it). I was just clarifying.

And yes, apple has to follow local laws. The app doesn't collect privacy invasive information used to track movements as your comment suggested. And it is not required to be on your phone.

[ Parent | on HN ]